expostulate

• Vainly did its frightened occupants entreat and expostulate, the man was obdurate, and they had given up all for lost, when the clever girl who had secured the safety of the rest of the party came to their rescue. —  The Letter-Bag of Lady Elizabeth Spencer-Stanhope v. I
• But Ormerin continued to expostulate, his English growing more uncertain as his agitation mounted. —  Artists in Crime - Ngaio Marsh - Alleyn 06: 1938
• In vain did the Queen expostulate, and, urged by Leonora and her suitor, even entreat of Henry to relent; all her efforts to this effect remained fruitless; and she was at length compelled to declare to the sorrowing woman that she had no alternative save to submit to the will of the King. —  The Life of Marie de Medicis, Vol. 1
• A blast would bring them down in an avalanche Canaris attempted to expostulate, but Guy drove them all down the slope and applied a match to the fuse It was high time, for up the passage shone the gleam of torches. —  The River of Darkness, or, Under Africa
• Seize him in the name of the Prophet I began to expostulate, and to deny the accusation, and probably should have succeeded to convince those who surrounded us that I was wrongly accused, when, to my consternation, the promoter of matrimony came up, at once recognized me, and called me by my name. —  The Adventures of Hajji Baba of Ispahan

Roget's II: The New Thesaurus